Shop chores I’m procrastinating

There are several things I need to do in the shop that for one reason or another I keep putting off, among them four that would help me work better if I did them.

I avoid tasks that are boring, tedious, messy or just don’t feel like doing. Sometimes more essential things come first, bumping menial chores back. This is typical, I think; we all do that. But there are a couple of things I’ve been meaning to do real soon that I’ve been putting off, and each is negatively impacting my productivity.

1. I seriously need to redo my lumber rack. I mentioned this in an earlier blog, and while I’ve whittled down most of the tasks I listed then, I dread this one. However, doing it would make things so much easier, plus I’d finally get all that walnut I talked about several weeks ago sorted and stacked. It’s right where I put it when I brought it home – leaning against the garage door (which, fortunately, I never open).

2. Clean the shop. I love an orderly shop, but I’ve let this slide for several weeks. Compounding the problem is the annual household changeover from winter to spring, with a large pile of stuff from the attic – accessed through my shop – stacked at the bottom of the steps waiting to either go into storage or back into spring/summer use.

3. Several bulbs in my light fixtures have either burned out or dimmed significantly; all need replacement. This is an odd one to put off because the fix wouldn’t take more than 10 minutes. But then, that’s probably the reason I keep ignoring it. It’s such an easy task I can do anytime with a few minutes to spare. As a result, I just never do it.

4. Regular readers will recall I recently built an extensive series of shop cabinets, and also covered/enclosed most open shelves with doors – all but one. Back when I was doing all of this, I ran out of the plywood I was using for the doors. I want to match the ply with the same stuff, but the supplier is somewhat out of the way. Not far, but just not on my regular travels.

Considering that springtime is the most difficult time for some (meaning me) to get things done, the prognosis for much of this isn’t good.

A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.